How, then, should I relate in all things and what then should be constant in my demeanor?

"While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God." (Hebrews 5:7 NLT)

And with that, Tyrone Wells goes to a place many of us have been. In our hearts, in our minds, and in our souls. My family and I had the chance to see this talented young artist perform live during this past year at our church. Originally from Spokane, WA, Wells is touring around the country performing songs from his latest album, REMAIN. This song, MORE, is the second track on that album. Wells performs it live with strong vocals, and the music is great, but it's honestly the lyrics that cut to my heart.

Enjoy! And tell everybody what you think about it in the DerDiZ Forums!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdTyVg9njOk

(1) Sometimes I get so tired,
Just trying to find a place,
To lay my head,
I look up to the sky,
I feel the warmest light comfort me,
I've seen the great heights,
Reminding me... that I'm alive,
I don't wanna die,
I don't wanna waste another day,
Or night,
I know there's something more,
Than what we're living for,
I see it in the stars,
I feel it on the shores,
I know there's something,
I know there's something more.
(2) I think we're all afraid,
That we might be alone,
Alone down here,
We all want to have some faith,
At least that's true in my case,
To just believe,
I've seen the great height,
Reminding me... that I'm alive,
I don't wanna die,
I don't wanna waste another day,
Or night,
I know there's something more,
Than what we're living for,
I see it in the stars,
I feel it on the shore,
I know there's something,
This world may crumble,
Into the ocean,
It could all end tonight,
I undermined you,
Then tried to find you,
My only source of light,
There breathing,
I am alive,
Breathing,
I am,
Alive,
I don't wanna die,
I don't wanna waste another day or night,
I know there's something more,
Than what we're living for,
I see it in the stars,
I feel it on the shore,
I know that I'm alive,
I don't wanna die,
I don't wanna waste another day,
Or night,
I know there's something more,
Than what we're living for,
I see it in the stars,
I feel it on the shore,
I know there's something more.

But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.

Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed. Acts 16:25-26;

Praising God is not a difficult task when things are going on well. When the bank account is fat and there are no outstanding bills to settle; when the body is healthy and there are no traces of pain or strain; when examinations are passed and promotions come regularly at work; when the children are doing well and no one has problem at all with drugs; when business ventures succeed and disappointments are far away; when all family members live in harmony and relationships are warm, it is a natural thing to rejoice and be glad. But what happens at the dark moments of our lives? - when all dreams are shattered and broken into pieces; when failure meets every step and venture; when relationship fails and our world is fallen apart; when friends forsake and loneliness takes over; when disappointments rain from every side and all hope is lost, you agree with me that praising God in such moment is beyond ordinary.

Praise is defined as the expression of respect and gratitude as an act of worship.
The first mention of the word in the Bible is found in Genesis 29:35. It is the Hebrew word yadah and it means (among other things) to revere or worship (with extended hands)'. It also means to give thanks. Several times in the book of Psalms we are enjoined to give thanks to God.

Let us analyze the English definition of the word as found in the opening paragraph in order to fully understand the meaning of the word.
It is an expression: to express means to convey or make known a thought or feeling. Our gesture or conduct expresses our thoughts. In praising God therefore, we are making something known to Him.
The main issue then is, what are we supposed to express to God in praises?
Is it our needs, sinfulness or request? No! When we praise God, we are supposed to express respect and gratitude to Him. Still analysing the definition of the word praise, let us look more closely at the words respect and gratitude.

Respect is a feeling of admiration for someone because of their qualities and achievements. We respect God because of His qualities, might, and above all His achievements.
Here are a few of them; He made the earth from nothing, causes the sun to shine on all men, He parted the red sea, He sent Jesus to die for our sins and free us from satan. He heals the sick, raises the dead, and shows the innocence of the righteous. The hopeless gets hope from Him, He is gracious, slow to anger and abiding in mercy.
Surely these are qualities that will earn anyone admiration. A proverb in my native Yoruba language says 'eni to o ba mo inu ro, a mo ope du' that is anyone who is thoughtful will be thankful. Respect and admiration for God would flow out of the person who can count his blessings from God.

Gratitude is the expression of appreciation, another word for it is thankfulness. It has its root in the Latin word gratus which means pleasing, thankful.
To show gratitude to God is to express thanks to Him, telling Him you are grateful for the things he's done for you.
Therefore, to praise God is to MAKE KNOWN TO HIM OUR ADMIRATION FOR HIS PERSONAL QUALITIES (RESPECT) AND THANKFULNESS FOR HIS ACTS (GRATITUDE) all done as an act of worship- obediently giving ourselves to Him.

Prayer and Praise

During times of fellowshipping with God, several things are done, among which are praises, praying and listening to God through His word. There is the tendency to confuse prayer with praises. To pray is to make a request and to praise is to give reverence.
It has been observed that both get interwoven during church services and personal devotions. There is nothing wrong in praising and praying at the same time. Nonetheless, we should still have it at the back of our mind that there is a very distinct difference between both.

Ways to praise God.

Since our words convey our thoughts, we offer praises to God mostly with words, spoken, sung or written. The Bible urges that the fruit of our lips should give thanks to God. Words like 'thank you, you are holy, I adore and appreciate you etc' convey our praises. We should also not forget the Hebrew word Hallelujah which means Praise God.

Praise is an expression, and we can use anything to make it known provided that the person at the receiving end understands what we are trying to convey. It follows then that we can praise God with anything or gesture that expresses the intensity of our adoration to Him.

We can sing to Him, clap for Him, dance, shout, roll on the floor, play on musical instruments, kneel, prostrate, recite poems, tell people about His acts in our lives (testimony), give to the needy and charities. The list is endless of the things we can do to show our reverence for our maker.
Among the Yoruba people of West Africa, one way to show admiration and respect is to prostrate for the person respected. Many people go an extra mile by rolling on the floor in front of the respected (My Mother does this a lot while giving God thanks). This practise of rolling on the ground is common place in many Nigerian churches.
It is recorded in 1st Chronicles 15:29 that King David praised God by leaping as in sport (Amplified Bible). 2nd Samuel 6:14 explains it better:
And David danced before the Lord with all his might...

The ultimate praise

In Old Testament times, praising God also involved offering animal sacrifices to him. In the present times however, the sacrifice of goats, rams, and birds are no longer required because Jesus' death and resurrection have abolished all animal sacrifices.

The ultimate sacrifice of praise that God requires from us is the offering of ourselves (our thoughts and conducts). We are told in the Bible to:
Present our bodies to God as a living sacrifice, wholly and acceptable to him, which is our reasonable act of worship.

A sacrifice is anything that is totally handed over to a higher person or cause. We are urged to give ourselves totally to God. This entails obeying Him in all he tells us to do.
A living sacrifice is a life that has been totally handed over to God. The highest form of worship we can give to God is the sacrifice of ourselves.

Praise the Lord
I will round up this piece with words of praise from Psalms 113 and also from the song Shout to the Lord © Hillsong Music Australia.

Psalms 113.
Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)
Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord!
Blessed be the name of the lord from this time forth and forever
From the rising of the sun to the going down of it and from the east to the west, the name of the Lord is to be praised!
The Lord is high above all nations, and His glory above the heavens!
Who is like the Lord our God who has His seat on high,
Who humbles Himself to regard the heavens and the earth!
[The Lord] raises the poor out of the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap and the dung hill,
That He may sit them with princes, even with the princes of His people.
He makes the barren woman to be a home maker and a joyful mother of [spiritual] children. Praise The Lord! (Hallelujah!)

Shout to the Lord
Shout to the lord all the earth let us sing,
Power and majesty praise to the King.
Mountains bow down and the seas will roar
at the sound of your name.
I sing for joy at the sound of your word.
Forever I'll love you, forever I'll stand,
nothing compares to the promise I have in you.
Praise the Lord!

The scene is the same in churches all over. Every sunday people go to churches big and small, head to meetings in living rooms and nursing homes, jails, and many other places to hear someone preach the Word of God. in these meetings, they sing, they testify, they sit reverently or shout out "AMEN!" or "Hallelujah" in agreement and support of what the preacher is saying. The singers sing, the choirs and bands play. Each has their own way of doing their church thing. one thing that is common in just about all of them is the use of the phrases "Praise the Lord", "Praise God", "Praise Jesus". The preacher says something like "lets all praise the Lord.", and everybody gets out of their seats, raise their hands and begin to say, sing chant, and shout things like: "praise you Lord", "praise Jesus", "praise God", and so on. I have to admit that I always thought that this was somehow just a little silly and a whole lot robotic, but never said anything about it because it's something you're supposed to do. You don't question things like that without coming off sounding like an unbeliever who is trying to ridicule God's people and their ways. So I kept it to myself and just tried to go along with the program, telling myself that this was just the devil trying to put doubts and faithlessness in my mind. But no matter how hard I tried not to think about it, the question kept coming back to me "Why do we stand here repeating 'Praise God' like this?". recently, I decided to do what I should have done years ago...get out my bible and study what God says about the subject.

The first thing I did was get out websters unabridged dictionary and look up the word praise. I found two sets of definitions, as a verb, and as a noun:

PRAISE (v)
1. to value, to appraise; also to esteem; value; prize
2. to express approbation of; to laud; extol; commend; applaud
3. to win or gain praise or commendation
4. to glorify by homage and ascription of perfection. especially in song. to laud; magnify.

synonyms: eulogize, celebrate, glorify, magnify

PRAISE (n)
1. the act of praise, or state of being praised; commendation for worth or excellence; approval expressed; honor rendered because of excellence or worth.

2. the act of glorifying God or extolling God; worship, worship by song.

3. the object, subject, ground, or reason of praise.

synonyms: honor, applause, acclaim, commendation

The next thing I did was get out God's Word for windows and Quickverse 4.0 and found out that the word 'praise' appears in the king james version 248 times in 216 verses. This alone tells me that it's important because generaly the more something is mentioned in the bible, the more important it is.

Then I got out the strongs concordance and look up the hebrew and greek words that were translated praise.

In digesting all this, I cannot help but come to the conclusion that an awful lot of us have somehow missed the point...

For example, if my wife were to go out of her way to make
something for dinner that I really liked, and took the time and
trouble to make it just perfect, and I absolutely loved what she
made how would I praise her for that? Would I stand there
saying "Praise Lura, Praise Lura"? or when telling my friends
about it would I start saying "praise Lura, Praised be Lura's
cooking"? Of course not!! She and my friends to whom
I did this would likely think I was a little off. At best, she would
understand my intent, and wonder "Why doesn't he just tell me
how much he likes it?" and my friends would understand much
better if i were to tell them what she did for me, and how great it
was and how much I love her for doing that for me when she
didn't have to.

Likewise, when I see people saying "Praise God" and
"Praise Jesus" and the like, I can just picture God chuckling
and shaking his head saying "I really appreciate their intent,
their hearts are in the right place, but they just don't
understand what praise means."

Telling someone about something that God has done for you,
Bragging about how perfectly God has met your needs,
Telling God how much you love him,
Thanking him for what he's done for you, ETC

Things like this and more is what praising God is all about,
in song and in stories, testimony, witnessing, and
thanksgiving. After all, Christians are not just about being
in our own little corner off by ourselves. We are about
bringing as many people into the Kingdom as possible.
We are about telling people that God loves them, and wants
nothing less than the best for them by showing them what
He has done for us. The best praise is that which helps
someone come to the cross and give themselves to Jesus.
Standing in church repeating "Praise God" may express to God
how we feel, but it doesn't do much for the unsaved. But telling
them of the great and mighty things He has done for us is
another matter entirely... it can lead souls to salvation.
and it TRULY magifies God and gives him glory.

Take a few minutes to talk to God about it,
you'll be glad you did.

For more Bible Studies and Christian Blogging check out God's Topshelf

Today, I want to talk about a very important subject. The subject is important because
we’re all required to apply it. Im referring to praise. Its very important to realize that praise
should be a part of our lifestyles. We should always have a heart of praise. Praise can be defined as:
The act of expressing approval or admiration. The offering of grateful homage in words or songs, as an act of worship: a hymn of praise to God.
Praise is important because it lets the Lord know where we are in terms of reverence in our hearts.
Our hearts should always be centered on the Lord. I understand that a lot goes on around us, but we should never forget that praise pleases the Lord.
In the printed scriptural text, we find that the psalmist(David) informs us that we should give the Lord His due at all times.
Take a glance back at verse 1 of the scriptural text. Notice how the word reveals that at all times, we should be in bless/ praise mode.
Notice where the focus is in verse 1. Its on the Lord.
When should it be on Him? At all times!
How often? At all times!
I have learned that we often have a way of diverting the attention off of the Lord, where it should be, onto ourselves. We have to understand that when we put all of our focus on the Lord, He’ll begin to work out our situations. At which time, we’ll begin to see the manifestation of the Lord’s will unfold right before our very eyes. Verse 1 goes on to say: His praise shall continually be in my mouth. This includes, but not limited to, when you’re going through trials and tribulations on the job or in the home and so forth.
We shouldn’t have a heart to praise the Lord just to get something out of Him, but we’re to praise Him because of who He is. Often, this is where we tend to miss it. We’ll do something just to get something in return when it comes to the affairs of God. However, when we praise the Lord, we will be blessed as a result of our obedience and devotion. We just have to be sure that our motives are pure. Look back now at verses 2 and 3. Notice how, at first, David is saying “I” will and “my” soul. However, in verse 3, he says” let “us” exalt His name together. In other words, there’s a time for us to get our praise on individually then there’s a time for corporate praise.
At any rate, we should always be in praise mode. Another reason praise is so important is because we were made with a purpose. We were created to give glory to the Lord ‘through our lives.’
One tragic mistake man often make is when he fails to give glory to the Lord after an accomplishment.
We are nothing without the Lord. There’s a passage of scripture that helps validate that point.
It’s found in Phillipians 4:13. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Many of you have heard or read that scripture before, but we have to instill it in our hearts. There’s a song that says” I cant make it -not one moment- without the Lord.” We cant! We’ll exist, but that’s about it. Its not beneficial just living and not being fruitful. We are suppose to bear fruit. We begin to bear fruit when we allow the Lord to use us and by doing what He has called to do. All of this goes back to our text , where it says: I will bless the Lord at all times. With that said, we not only give the Lord glory audibly, but we can glorify Him through our lifestyles as well. For example: Jesus taught us in Matthew 5:16,, Let your light so shine before men that they may see your {good works} and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Notice there how Jesus explains how ‘living’ by example glorifies God. So just imagine how powerful glorifying the Lord individually, collectively, and through our living could be. Verse 4 of the text explains that as a result of praise, the Lord delivers us from all of our fears. The writer, David, also says that the Lord “heard” him, when He called upon Him. How did He hear him? & Why did He give ear to him? Well it goes back to the first few verses. Praise. Praise. Praise.
Because David was a praise warrior and when it came down to having a need for deliverance, the Lord rescued him. A great deal of what we go through comes from a lack of praise.
Ask yourself: Am I doing enough with my life?
Am I truly doing all that I can to give glory to the Lord?
Do I have a bag full of good intentions?
Do I just sit around ‘hosting’ pitty parties all day?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, I would encourage you to begin making praise a part of your life. Your praise doesn’t have to be like the next person’s praise. It may be altogether different. However, the point is: we need to incorporate it as part of our lifestyle. Notice what type of results David received as a result of praise. He said that he sought the Lord, and He heard me! “The Lord heard me, ” David said. This reveals to us that the Lord doesn’t hear all prayers, but he hears the right ones. Additionally, he goes on to say that the delivered him from all fears.
The Lord will do the same thing for you as well, but the focus must shift off of you and onto Him. When we praise Him, as I said before, we divert all attention to Him. Thats what its all about. Verse 7 of the text reveals that we are divinely protected. It’s good to know that the Lord is working behind the scenes on our behalf. He cares for us and He makes sure we’re taken care of.
Should anything happen to you as a child of God, He’s aware of it. Nothing sneaks past the Lord. He cares for His own and verse 7 reveals that He has representatives working for the Lord on our behalf. They are angels. They have specific duties, as given by the Lord. Notice who the text says they encamps(encompass) around. They encamps around those that “fear” the Lord. The ones that have such a respect for the Lord that they dare to live any and every kind of way.
In closing, I encourage you to remember how important it is to live and respect the Lord through your life.
The more you do that, the more you would be able to understand verse 8 of our text. Im sure you have heard the cliche: “God is good all the time and all the time God is good.” Well, if you live for Him, you’ll attest that this statement and verse 8 is indeed true without a shadow of a doubt. It’s one thing to hear something second and third hand, but it’s altogether different when you know for yourself.
I want to go on record myself to say that I’ve tasted of the goodness of the Lord and oh yeah,,,,He is indeed good! Have you tried Him? If not, I want to encourage you to do so today. Tomorrow is not promised. The first step in the process of your life of praise is to first give your life to Him.

Jesus gave His life, was resurrected, ascended into heaven, and is coming back again. God is good whether you praise Him or not, but if you praise Him as the text says,,at all times, you’ll begin to see Him move like never before in your lives. We have so much to be thankful for. It is my prayer that you be blessed, be encouraged, be prayerful, be constantly praising Him. May God bless you.
--RD
danielsreg@hotmail.com

In the following write up, (entirely excerpted from my new book, Heartfelt Worship - An Exploration of the Transcendental Nature of Prophetic Worship), we shall be conducting an exhaustive word study of the subject of praise.

An accurate understanding of this subject, especially viewed from the perspective of the original Hebrew lexicon, will not only prove very stimulating, truly exciting, and richly informative to every enquiring mind, but will also help to greatly enrich our worship experience, and take it to the next level as intended by our Heavenly Father.

From the Hebrew lexicon, there are no fewer than eight words, (actually, there are several more), which are used to describe the action word praise, namely:

1). YADAH

The primary meaning of this Hebrew word is to "utter or proclaim a confession of thanks in an audible voice." It also involves the extension of the hands heavenwards toward God.

This Hebrew verb connotes a root, meaning the extended hands, or to throw up the hands in the air. It further implies to worship with one's hands extended heavenwards.

According to the Hebrew lexicon, the opposite meaning is to bemoan something with a wringing of the hands. In other words, it is either your hands are thrown up in victorious praise, or they are hung down and are wrung in abject, whimpering defeat!

Yadah praise is involved action, not idle passivity. As we can see in 2nd Chronicles 20:19-21, this was what King Jehoshaphat of Israel did when his tiny nation was besieged and almost overran by hostile Ammonite and Moabite nations, in league with certain others.

On that dreadful day, the king instructed the "...Levites from the sons of the Kohathites..." [to go] out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord, (that is, YADAH); for His mercies endureth for ever."

What the Levites did on that day was to lift up their hands to God in Yadah Praise, thereby, thoroughly exposing their defencelessness and vulnerability to the vicious nations gathered around them. It wasn't until they had faithfully obeyed the king's command before a prophet in the land came up with a definite instruction from the Almighty God Himself of what they should do! Of course, we know the rest of the story - how Yadah Praise brought swift, tremendous, and effortless victory on that fateful day.

I read about a certain man who had a twenty-month old baby boy. Somehow, little boy managed to discover the leisure item called chewing gum and he would always use the stuff to mess up his dad's cloths. Naturally, the dad promptly decided not to keep chewing gums around the home.

Incidentally, the grandmother of the little lad turned out to be a spoiler or violator of the 'no-gums-around-the-home' rule. And so, each time she would come visiting, she ensured that there was an ample supply of the stuff in her pockets, and the little lad easily discovered this!

Each time grandma shows up, the under-two year old chap would scamper as fast as his little legs would propel him - diapers somewhere in-between his legs and ankles! When he finally reaches her, he wouldn't utter a word. He would just Yadah, (that is, throwing up his hands in the air as high as he could reach)!

And what would be grand mom's response? She in turn wouldn't utter a word - she didn't have to - but she communicated easily well enough, as he too did. Grandma would stoop low to scoop up the diapered bundle of joy. Yet they both knew what each needed from the other. He needed the inevitable chewing gums stocked in her pockets; she needed the refreshing bear hug he offered to her!

I think this story perfectly illustrates for us the power of Yadah Praise. Our Heavenly Father delights and desires our Yadah Praise; we in turn crave and covet His divine blessings.

The Psalmist wrote,

"So, I will bless Thee as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Thy Name," (63:4).

Furthermore, the Psalmist exhorts us to,

"­Lift up [our] hands in the sanctuary and bless the Lord," (134:2).

In the same vein, Paul wrote,

"So I will therefore, that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands..."(1st Timothy 2:8).

Interestingly, during the cause of my studies, I discovered that Yadah is also an active post-positive Hebrew term according to the biblical text of Psalm 50:23, which reads:

"Whoso offers praise glorifies me; and to him that orders his conversation aright will I show the salvation of God."

It is wonderful to note that the word SHEW as used in the King James Version text was not a grammatical error of using a simple perfect tense instead of a future continuous tense. There is a divine purpose for this.

Please, also note down the following:

[i] "...Whoso offers praise glorifies me..."

Firstly, this phrase is a careful application of Yadah praise. It is first, a freewill, voluntary offering. Coercion is not applied to the one who offers it. It is purely voluntary - an exercise of the power of volition (or choice).

Secondly, it is an offering aimed at glorifying God, irrespective of one's present situation or circumstance.

Thirdly, in this instance, Yadah praise is used to celebrate God joyfully and with reckless abandonment.

Fourthly, Yadah praise is also a 'showing forth'or a bold declaration to as many who care to hear us, of God's promise to the saints in the form of His ultimate intervention.

[ii] "... ­and to him that orders his conversation (or lifestyle) aright..."

This is also another outworking of the post-positive action of Yadah praise. It subjects you to a rigorous regimen of consistency and integrity. Yadah praise demands a consistency in the confession of our lips.

Our words must always line up with our actions, and vice versa. There shouldn't be any form of inconsistency or variation between our confession and our pattern of lifestyle, or else, it will negate the ultimate end-result, which is our desire for God's promise of salvation (or intervention).

It is rather quite difficult to obtain favourable results with Yadah Praise if any form of inconsistency, of whatever degree, sets in on us - especially with respect to our confession and/or lifestyle.

[iii] "... ­will I shew the salvation of God..."

This concluding phrase shows us why Yadah Praise is an active Hebrew term. Yadah Praise takes it for granted that God will manifest His salvation in our lives if we maintain the confession of our lips, (Hebrews 10:35-36).

If our confession remains consistent and intact, Yadah Praise guarantees that we shall witness God's ultimate intervention, in whichever area we trust Him for a miracle.

It is also of vital interest to note that Yadah Praise is the same term as faith-in-action. Again, another term for Yadah Praise is the 'sacrifice of praise', (ie, according to the biblical texts of Jeremiah 17:26; 33:11 and Hebrews 13:15).

My dear reader, when was the most recent time you practised Yadah Praise? Please, be reminded never to quit giving God your Yadah Praise. Your answers shall soon connect with your expressions of faith, if you choose never to give up!

2). HALLAL

This word occurred about 88 times in the Hebrew Biblical Texts, and it is the word most commonly used for praise all throughout the Scriptures. The literal meaning of Hallal is to produce "... a loud, clear sound of celebration..." It is also to "...­ boast, brag or rave about, and to glory in God."

Our commonly chanted English antiphon of Hallelujah is believed to have derived its origin from Hallal. How interesting!

If we as parents expect praise from our grateful children, how much more should our Great God and Father expect effusive praise from our thankful hearts! Interestingly too, this type of praise is perhaps the most commonly practised expression of praise. It is the kind of praise that pervades wherever saints of like mind converge. It is also what motivates the children of God everywhere to witness for Christ.

Hallal praise predisposes us to be so clamourously extravagant that we find ourselves throwing all decorum and caution to the winds in our righteous zeal to witness to others about the saving power of the Lord Jesus Christ.

THE FOURTEEN MODES OF HALLAL PRAISE

1. Praise, which can be audibly heard, [Psalm 66:8, 17; 98:4]. Acts 16:25 reads, "And at midnight, Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them." There are no biblical instances to prove that anyone praised the Lord in the silence of their hearts alone. All throughout Scripture, it was always vocal and audible.

2. Praise, which involves standing, [Psalm 35:27; 47:1; 95:1]. Almost always, the Psalmists urged the saints to shout out God's praise, and to make it audibly loud and heard.

3. Praise, which employs singing, [Psalm 47:6]. Countless scriptures abound to show that singing remains a dominant mode of expressing our praises and worship to God.

4. Praise, which goes hand in hand with thanksgiving, [Psalm 50:23; 69:30; Jonah 2:9; Ephesians 5:18-20; Hebrews 13:15]. Next to our vocal praise, thanksgiving is another mode of expression well understood by most people of almost all ages and generations.

5. Praise, which involves a joyful noise, [Psalm 66:1-2; 95:1]. The Hebrew word for joyful noise is Teruwah, which is a clamorous acclamation of unrestrained, unfettered joy.

6. Praise, which requires our crying out, [Isaiah 12:6; Psalm 89:26]. Sometimes, even the most high and mighty among us do break down and cry. There is nothing undignifying about it - as it only goes a long way to express our love for God!

7. Praise, which evokes laughter in us, [Psalm 126:2]. Laughter is a high-powered tonic; and God frequently enjoins us to laugh and to feel good about ourselves in His presence.

8. Praise, which incorporates musical instruments in its expressions, [Psalm 33:2-3; 57:8; 150]. God Himself endorsed the skilful use of musical instruments to aid and accompany the expression of our praise to Him.

9. Praise, which calls for bowing and kneeling before God, [Psalm 95:6; Ephesians 3:14; Philippians 2:10-12]. One day, every knee will bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is the Lord of heaven and earth!

10. Praise, which demands our falling down to genuflect (or prostrate) before God, [Nehemiah 8:6; Revelations 5:13-14; 7:11-12; 11:16-17]. It does often happen in Spirit-filled and Heart-felt Praise worship that we get so overwhelmed in God's presence that we simply want to fully genuflect before Him in reverent worship.

11. Praise, which requires the clapping of our hands, [Psalm 47:1; 98:8]. Not even the traditions of the elders are powerful enough to subdue our overwhelming need to clap in God's presence! Numerous Psalms abound to show that clapping of the hands almost always accompany our expressions of praise to our God.

12. Praise, which involves the uplifting of our hands in God's presence, [Psalm 63:4; 134:2; 141:2]. As we have seen in Yadah Praise, the uplifting of the hands in praise goes a long way to communicate our total trust in God's benevolent providence and excellent sovereignty.

13. Praise, which goes with The Dance, [Psalm 30:11; 149:3; 150:4; 2nd Samuel 6:14-15]. Scriptures make it very imperatively clear that there are kinds of stipulated Dance Steps that God requires to accompany our praise to Him. Psalm 149:3 tagged it The Dance. It implies that it is a skilful manoeuvring of the limbs in God's presence.

14. Praise, which includes the use of other tongues for the expression of our worship to God, [Acts 10:46; 1st Corinthians 14:16-17]. One other way to express our praise to God is in other tongues as the Holy Spirit enables the saints. There is only one category of people who do not, and cannot praise God - that is only the dead!

Those of us who are privileged to be alive must find more ways than one of expressing our Hallal praise to God, because He deserves it all!

The bottom line, therefore, is that God expects our praise sacrifice should always be characterised by effusive celebrations and clamorous jubilations!

3). TOWDAH

This word was derived from the same root origin of Yadah, but unlike Yadah, (which is an active, action word), Towdah is more of a passive expression.

In its passive form, Towdah Praise connotes the imagery of hands extended heavenwards in a gesture of total surrender, almost like what happens when a gun is aimed at a defenceless victim. If the intended victim wishes to live to tell the gory tale, he or she is expected to quickly throw up their hands in the air, indicating that they are unarmed and have no intention of putting up any resistance or engaging the opponent or assailant in battle.

Happily, this picture doesn't depict our relationship to God! He is not a '...­sadist, absentee landlord...'(to borrow a statement made by Al Paccino in the film, The Devil's Advocate) waiting upstairs to quash our joy, or to shoot us in the back.

Rather, the truth is that each time we raise our hands heavenwards, it clearly demonstrates our complete submission to His Lordship, and by so doing, freely express our love, adoration and total submission to Him.

Also, Towdah Praise is the Sacrifice of Thanksgiving, and it is an active way of rejoicing and celebrating well in advance the things that have not yet occurred nor taken place yet, for which we have already received a guarantee about by faith from God's word.

Sadly too, in Towdah Praise, there is a negative dimension, in which the worshipper may raise his hands heavenwards in a gesture of adoration, but may in fact, be actually wringing his hands in veiled defiance at God. This is usually characterised by wild but well-subdued gesticulations of mild irritation. We therefore, need to be careful to ensure that the motive of our hearts are purified and sanctified, and really geared at worshipping God.

4). SHABACH

This is another action word, and it means to:

"... ­shout with a loud voice, to make a great commotion about something or someone; to give a shout of ovation or triumph; to issue an authoritative command of faith, and to dance in a celebration of victory..."

To quote from the great work of Gerald Rowlands:

"...We do not always have to shout. But there are occasions when a triumphant shout is the only fitting manner in which to praise God..." - (The Shepherd's Staff).

There are also instances when it may appear as if there is a thick cloud of darkness all around us. Other times, a pall of heaviness may come to rest on us. The best response is an authoritative Shabach Praise!

I read the story of an elderly woman who was once so tormented by Satan that she eventually had to resort to Shabach Praise to deliver herself from his infamy. It so happened on a certain occasion that while she was busy ironing some clothes, her mind came under constant assaults of hate-filled, negative thoughts.

She offered a word of prayer concerning the flow of evil thoughts but it wouldn't just let go of her, but grew stronger than ever. She then tried singing, but it didn't help either. Finally, in an act of absolute faith, she walked towards the kitchen door, and flung it open.

She then opened her mouth and made the following declaration into the air:

"Satan, I charge you, leave my kitchen and leave me alone now! I resist you and your invasion of my thoughts in the Name of Jesus! And don't you forget for one moment that Jesus conquered you! You've been stripped of your authority! You are God's idea of nothing, so, get lost! Jesus is Lord! Now listen to me while I praise Him for whipping you!"

Right after that, she burst out into singing, putting Psalms 35:27 & 47:1 into practice. Without further ado, the fowl evil spirit that was tormenting her left in a frantic, huge hurry!

What that dear old lady did was to combine Hallal and Shabach Praise to kick out the devil from her home. You too, dear child of God, should not hesitate to use those tools next time evil thoughts attempt to overrun your mind, or invade your heart!

5). BARAK

This word is almost next in meaning to Shachah the Hebrew term for Worship.

Barak is to '...­kneel in humble and reverent adoration...' In worship, we often kneel before God, and by so doing; we are acknowledging His Almighty Worthiness and exalted position of Supremacy and Superiority.

This reverent act of kneeling before God connects us with His throne of grace where we may then freely obtain mercy and find grace to help in our times of need.

However, like Towdah, there is also a negative side of Barak, in which instance, a person may ostensibly kneel before God in worship, but might actually be using the corners of the mouth to utter blasphemies, imprecations and invectives against God!

Fortunately, God is "... ­the Lord of knowledge, and by Him, (words) and actions are weighed," (1st Samuel 2:3). Also, we recall that in Isaiah 29:13-14, God strongly indicted the hypocritical Jews who "...draw near with their mouth and with their lips do honour (Him) but have removed their hearts far from Him..."

The following scripture verses also capture the power of Barak Praise:

* Psalm 22:24

"For He hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath He hid His face from him; but when he cried unto Him, he heard."

* Lamentations 3:31-33

"For the Lord will not cast off for ever; but though He cause grief, yet will He have compassion according to the multitude of His mercies. For He doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men."

* Psalm 72:12-15

"For He will deliver the needy when he cries for help; the afflicted also, and him who hath no helper. He will have compassion on the poor and needy. And the lives of the needy, He will save. He will rescue their life from oppression and violence; and their blood will be precious in His sight - let them bless (or Barak) Him all day long."

6). ZAMAR

This term as used in the Hebrew lexicon is an obvious reference to instrumental praise/worship. The term literally means to 'touch or play on the strings.'

Zamar Praise mostly incorporates a full-scale rejoicing in God's presence, using just about every available mechanical and artificial objects that when jangled, shaken, twang, strummed, beaten or blown, produces a form of organised and melodious sound, noise or cacophony.

Most of the instruments mentioned or alluded to in Psalm 150 are mostly percussive or rhythmic in nature, and were intended to create lots of clamorous cacophony to be used exclusively in rejoicing and celebrating joyfully before God, (1st Chronicles 15:16).

Therefore, we can authoritatively infer that God fully endorses the use of musical instruments in our praise and worship of Him; and as for those who still argue against the use of musical instruments in church worship services, the application of this word, Zamar, hopefully lays to a permanent rest such baseless contentions for ever more!

7). TEHILLAH

The literal meaning for this Hebrew word is fully explained by its practical application and direct reference in the text of Colossians 3:16, which reads in part:

"...­teach and help one another along the right road with your psalms and hymns and Christian songs, singing God's praises with joyful hearts," (Philip's).

Tehillah is also a plural verb word for praise. Most specifically, Psalm 22:3 which reads in part, "... ­God inhabits (or is enthroned) in (or on) the praises of His people..." is a beautiful expression of this form of plural praise.

In the passage cited above, the word 'praise'is in the plural sense. This verse also shows that Tehillah Praise is expressly and explicitly stated to be where God dwells. On the other hand, [and like we had noted much earlier on], Tehillah is the chanting or singing of Hallal Praise!

Please, note the ending part of Colossians 3:16 where we are encouraged to sing '... ­God's praises with joyful hearts...' It follows therefore, that Tehillah Praise is a joyful celebration of our God in Christian songs. In fact, Tehillah, [which we have seen to be a close relation of Hallal], is a steadily progressive build-up on all the other Hebrew terms used to define the subject of praise.

Again, in some learned theological circles, it has often been vigorously argued that Tehillah is a form of Spirit Praise. I guess this is so because there is a general understanding that in Tehillah Praise, the Holy Spirit comes to take over the entire Worship Service, during which time, He goes into thorough inner work in the lives of God's people.

8). HILLUWI

This eighth Hebrew word for praise is further derived from the root origin of Hallal, and to help us fully define its practical functionalities, we shall again freely quote from the contributions of Gerald Rowlands as taken from The Shepherd's Staff:

"... Hilluwi ... ­is a celebration of thanksgiving for the completion of harvest. Such praise is to be expressed in merriment. A post-harvest scene in any agricultural country would illustrate the essence of this word. The long months of anxious waiting are over. The harvest is safely gathered in. The hard work is finished; the tools are laid down, (and) the crops are safely stored away. It is, (therefore), the time to celebrate the successful completion of the harvest. It is a time of merriment and celebration. Singing and dancing are (usually) the order of the day..."

It is therefore, safe for us to opine that Hilluwi is Harvest Praise. Hilluwi is the kind of effusive and jubilant celebration that accompanies our times of thanksgivings, children dedication services, marriage anniversaries, or the special family thanksgiving services.

During such services, we come to celebrate God's faithfulness to us in the Tabernacle of the Righteous ones, and especially when He must have done something very praise-worthy for us; for example - a long-delayed fruit of the womb; a miraculous deliverance from fatal accidents, fire disasters, or armed-robbery attacks, et cetera. Hilluwi Praise ought to become a part and parcel of our lives as saints, and not just restricted to only agricultural harvests.

You know my heart and my heartaches. You have showered me with blessings and carried me through the valley of pain and sadness. Thank you for the godly influence of special people in my life. Thank you for those who pray for and encourage me. I even thank you for the hard times and trials I have been through, for they have strengthened my faith. I praise you for giving me a spirit of hope, love, and acceptance, rather than allowing me to become angry, bitter, and downcast. I praise you God, from whom all blessings flow. May I, in return, be a blessing to you.

In Jesus' name, amen.